Wall Street’s bearish price targets for the stocks in this article signal serious concerns. Such forecasts are uncommon in an industry where maintaining cordial corporate relationships often trumps delivering the hard truth.

At StockStory, we look beyond the headlines with our independent analysis to determine whether these bearish calls are justified. That said, here are three stocks where the outlook is warranted and some alternatives with better fundamentals.

F5 (FFIV)

Consensus Price Target: $310.30 (5.6% implied return)

Originally named after the F5 tornado, the most powerful on the meteorological scale, F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) provides security and delivery solutions that protect applications across cloud, data center, and edge environments for large organizations.

Why Are We Out on FFIV?

1. Customers were hesitant to make long-term commitments to its software as its ARR averaged 7.1% declines over the last year
2. Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street’s estimates imply tepid growth of 4.5%
3. Static operating margin over the last year shows it couldn’t become more efficient

At $293.72 per share, F5 trades at 5x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including FFIV in your portfolio.

FormFactor (FORM)

Consensus Price Target: $84.11 (-12.1% implied return)

With customers across the foundry and fabless markets, FormFactor (NASDAQ: FORM) is a US-based provider of test and measurement technologies for semiconductors.

Why Are We Wary of FORM?

1. Annual revenue growth of 2.5% over the last five years was below our standards for the semiconductor sector
2. Gross margin of 39.8% is below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D
3. Weak free cash flow margin of 5.9% has deteriorated further over the last five years as its investments increased

FormFactor’s stock price of $95.72 implies a valuation ratio of 51.9x forward P/E. If you’re considering FORM for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

Dillard's (DDS)

Consensus Price Target: $519.67 (-12.6% implied return)

With stores located largely in the Southern and Western US, Dillard’s (NYSE: DDS) is a department store chain that sells clothing, cosmetics, accessories, and home goods.

Why Are We Hesitant About DDS?

1. Dearth of new stores suggests management is prioritizing the optimization of its existing locations over growth
2. Weak same-store sales trends over the past two years suggest there may be few opportunities in its core markets to open new locations
3. Sales were less profitable over the last three years as its earnings per share fell by 10.4% annually, worse than its revenue declines

Dillard's is trading at $594.64 per share, or 18.2x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than DDS.

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Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.